About the EU Delegation to Namibia

The Delegation was established at independence of the country in 1990, under the Third Lomé Convention - one in a series of treaties which defined the relationship between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, of which Namibia is a member. The Lomé Conventions, were succeeded by the Cotonou Agreement, signed in Cotonou, Benin in 2000. The partnership between the ACP and the European Union (formally known as the European Community) concerns political, economic and trade relations and aims at assisting in the development of the ACP countries.

The Delegation is in particular responsible for the co-ordination and monitoring of the development cooperation programmes financed by the European Commission – either through the EU budget or the European Development Fund (EDF). It works closely with Government Agencies (and intergovernmental agencies such as the SACU secretariat) to implement projects and strategies in the framework of the Lomé and Cotonou Agreements. The Delegation represents the European Commission in all matters, informing on all activities of the Commission and keeping its headquarters in Brussels abreast of significant local developments. It works closely with the EU member states in Namibia, and in particular, the country representing the EU Presidency. It also co-operates and co-ordinates activities with representatives of non-EU member states and multilateral organisations.

The excellent team of the EU Delegation is here to assist, facilitate and help Namibia to sustain its stability and to allow for further inclusive growth. The European Union Delegation currently represents 500 million Europeans. 28 European Member States offer to Namibia more than one billion Namibian Dollars to assist the educational sector and development of rural communal areas in the North, in full agreement with the Government of Namibia and fully owned by Namibia. The European Union Delegation in Namibia, as in many other countries, fully supports the maturing of democracy, protection of human rights and the rule of law for everyone and equal economic chances for all.

The EU Delegation will start to implement the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Namibia in 2016. The new economic partnership will still allow Namibia to export to the EU quota- free, duty-free, while European goods are still subject to custom tariffs. The European Union understands that being categorized as an Upper Middle-Income Country is a positive challenge for Namibia, which can be managed; it is an opportunity to further inclusive development.

Europeans are doing a lot to not allow global temperature to rise more than 2 degrees centigrade. The EU Delegation team will try to mitigate impacts of climate change, strongly support a better energy mix and encourage increased usage of renewable energy for Namibia.

I am personally coming from a very difficult life - the current Middle East. Namibia is therefore a real paradise for me and I consider myself a very lucky person to have Namibia as my home for the next four years. I will personally do everything to support the key most valuable treasures of Namibia: its people, through human resource development, through education and vocational training, its nature through climate change mitigation, the introduction of renewable energy and environmental protection, and its land and cattle in the North, working together with all the different peoples of Namibia.